


Reinventing the Scene

by micoojones (orphan_account)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Band Fic, M/M, band au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-08 13:25:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11082507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/micoojones
Summary: All I wanted as a kid was to be a fireman, something innocent you know? Never, not once, did I think I would end up here.





	1. Chapter 1

There are only six more days until our big North American tour. Over-Achiever has been number one on the charts ever since the release back in January, it is June now. Our last record barley made it anywhere near the top thirties on the charts, barley. So I just want someone to tell me what the fuck happened. We used to just play in dingy little bars in vaguely known cities with a small following on myspace. Now we have hundreds of thousands of fans, and we are selling out shows in some of the big-name arenas across the U.S. Seriously, what the fuck happened?

All I wanted as a kid was to be a fireman, something innocent you know? Never, not once, did I think I would end up here.

Everyone in the band has been buzzing with excitement ever since the tour was announced in March, and ever since the massive success with our most recent album in January. Geoff has been talking about tour just as long, but he’s more stressed than he is excited. He’s our manager, there is no way in hell he wouldn't be stressed to the max about this whole thing. We have also been having non-stop rehearsals for the past four weeks, and right now, what I want more than anything in the world is just to take a break from it all. Or at least have a good twelve hour sleep.

Every single interview we have had since our tour dates were released, we have been bombarded with the same fucking questions: “What can we expect?” “Ray, do you plan to crowd dive at these shows like you used to at your old ones?” “Do you feel like there any pressure on you guys?”

And we respond with the same fucking answers: “You can expect us playing our music and having a good time doing it.”, and, “No.”, and, “Yes.”

But this is going to be great isn’t it? It’s supposed to be the big experience that every band aims for. This is what we signed up for and we got it. We finally fucking got it. Sold out shows all throughout North America. I would just dread to see what it would be like if we did a world tour, which is probably what’s next.

Trust me, to an extent, I am very thrilled about this. But that thrill also comes with nerves. And I swear to God if Ray doesn't shut up about how many chicks he is going to bang during this tour, I am going to punch him square in the mouth.

“Three sold out shows in New York City, Michael!”, Ray exclaims, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me.

“Jesus, dude, get the fuck off of me!”, I shout, shoving him away from me, “And why are you so excited? You always tell us about how much of a shit-hole it was when you lived there.” I add.

“That is because I was living in a shit-hole apartment while I was there. Plus, Michael, stop being such a downer about this. Cheer up a bit for once, would ya?”

He’s right, but try and catch me after about eight hours of sleep and I might be a little more cheery.

“Michael, Get your ass over here!”, Geoff calls out.

I turn my head to see Geoff shifting, and walking in circles. I can’t help but worry and walk over to him to see what is wrong. When I get a closer look at his expression, it looks like he is just about ready to explode. This isn't going to be a conversation about how much we are going to kick ass on this tour, is it?

“Michael, Michael… Jesus H. Christ, this is bad, this is so fucking bad!” He whines, raking his fingers through his greasy hair, his tired eyes frantic, “I cannot fucking believe—!”

“Whoah, whoah, Geoff—“

“It’s Caleb, Michael,” I quirk a brow at him, “he’s saying his is going to quit the fucking band! Right before our huge tour across North America, he cannot just fucking quit!”

My mouth feels dry and I cannot find the words to speak. He is quitting? Why the hell would he quit?

“Shit, uh, fuck,” I stutter, which probably is not helping very much at all.

“Could he not just stay for the first leg of the tour?” I think.

I only realize I have actually voiced my thought out loud when I hear Geoff laugh darkly.

“Trust me, I’ve tried that,” He says, he looks like he might just cry, might, “I’ve even offered him a raise and his own, private bed on the tour bus, but he wouldn't take any of it! Fuck!”, he cries and I bite my lip nervously.

How could he just quit? How could he just leave all of us like that?

Geoff is rubbing his temples, “Now we have to find a new guitarist…Can’t Ryan just fill in or something?”

“Ryan can only play the banjo, Geoff.” I inform him and he groans.

“They’re both string instruments, aren’t they? All of them have to be the same!”

I shake my head and heave a sigh.

“We still have six days until we leave, right? We can probably find a replacement in that amount of time. I’m sure at least one person in the studio knows someone who could fill in for Caleb.”

Geoff is nodding along as I talk, but I can’t tell if he is really listening to me or not. This isn’t that big of a deal. We still have five days to find someone, five days is enough.

It is enough, right?

“But, wait, why did he leave? Did he tell you?”

Geoff crosses his arms over his chest and says, “I don’t even know, really. Some bullshit about ‘feeling the pressure’ and not wanting fame to go to his head— Stupid shit like that!”

I almost have an understanding for Caleb, but I won’t tell Geoff that. Not right now. Geoff has not calmed down at all since we started talking, but I guess I can’t really blame him. I think this has been the most stressed he has ever been in his entire life. But again, who could really blame him?

Anytime I walk into his office, the only thing that covers his desk is: paperwork, paperwork, and oh would you look at that, more paperwork. I am surprised he has even held it together this long.

Until now, that is.

“Geoff, everything will be okay. I promise you, we will find another guitarist,” I get an idea just then, “And…And you know what? You will not have to even lift a finger either.”

Geoff quickly tries to cut me off, “But Michael—“

I shake my head firmly and then look him straight in the eyes, “No, Geoff, I’ve totally got this.”

I grab ahold of his shoulders and squeeze them tightly, “Geoff, you are only going to focus on the tour for the next few days and let me handle this,” he is paying attention now, “and I promise you again, I will find someone before tour starts.”

Geoff looks hesitant to agree, but he begins to nod his head slowly. The expression on his face is one of slight relief. It looks like he has just had the world’s biggest weight lifted off of his back, his posture recomposing.

“Okay, yeah, I trust you.”

I just smile and nod.

“Thanks, Geoff.”

***

It has been a whole, whopping ten hours so far, and I have not managed to think of a single person available to replace Caleb. I’ve asked just about everyone in the office, and everyone they know is touring with some other band or is out of town. I haven’t even had time to contact Caleb since he disappeared, although I have no strong desire to do that as of now. And I definitely have not talked to Geoff.

I am talking about all of this to Barbara, total exasperation in my tone. I watch her as she finishes off her coffee and I tap my feet against the floor impatiently. We have been discussing this issue in the studio’s break room for the past ten minutes. As soon as I noticed her walking into the room, I raced in after her and shut the door. She is one of the only people here that I have managed to become good friends with.

She has been nodding along to everything I’ve been saying, listening contently. I don’t really know if she cares about any of my problems at all, but I hope she might have something helpful to say. Even if she doesn't have any input or advice, I guess it is just nice to get all of this off of my chest.

She nods her head again for a minute after I’ve stopped talking, then flashes me a reassuring, confident smile.

“Michael Jones, I think I may have a solution to your problem.” She says with a smirk.

I lean across the table, looking at her intently and waiting for her to tell me what exactly this grand ‘solution’ of hers is.

She leans back against the back of the white couch she is sitting on, crosses her arms over her chest and casually says, “I happen to know a guy…Who is amazing on the guitar and is not — in any way, shape or form — busy.”

Just then, I get the overwhelming urge to leap across the table and give her a big hug.

“God bless you, Barbara Dunkleman.” I say with a gracious smile.

I will sleep soundly tonight with the knowledge that there is a lower possibility of Geoff charging into my house and cutting off my head and parading it around on a stick. Unless this guitarist turns out to be shitty, but I try to hope for the best.

***

I meet Gavin Free On the third of June, sun is pouring in through the window behind me as I stand and wait for Barbara to bring this new guitarist in so I can see what he is made of. The needle on the little clock on the wall strikes 9:15 PM when Barbara walks in. She is accompanied by a tall, lanky man. He has s scruffy, little beard and has blonde hair that is messy and is sticking up in every different direction. It’s like he has never been introduced to a hairbrush before, or something. He looks jittery and full of nerves, but is still managing a toothy grin and appears to be all set to play. He has a large guitar case with him, the brand name ‘Gibson’ proudly plastered to the front in a white print to stand out against the black case.

“Michael,” Barbara says, one arm wrapped around the guy’s shoulders, “meet Gavin Free.”

“Nice to meet—“

“A pleasure to meet you too, Michael Jones.” Gavin says, cutting me off excitedly. He shakes my hand with enthusiasm.

For a minute I am terrified that Barbara has deceived me and brought a rabid fan to the studio, but after I look into his eyes, I just see gleeful excitement. I feel relieved as Gavin says, “So let’s get to playing then, shall we?”

“Yeah, sure, just uh, come down the hallway with me and we can get started.” I say hesitantly, sneaking a glance at Barbara who gives me a thumbs up.

Lindsay and Ray are both rehearsing in the room next door and don’t know about the whole Caleb Leaving debacle just yet. I want to see if we can actually find a good replacement first before breaking the news. I just don’t want either of them to freak out. 

Gavin and I step into the other practice space that we have in the studio, it is a lot smaller and not used as often as it used to be anymore. The room has a boring linoleum floor and white walls that are heavily padded with sound proofing material.

I take a seat on one of the beat up couches that lines the back wall of the practice space as Gavin takes his place in front of me.

“Give it all you've got, Gavvers.” I don’t know where the new nickname comes from, and I am momentarily worried that he’ll think I’m stranger for that, but he doesn’t seem to care.

He nods his head and flashes a toothy grin, then he strums the first line of Faked Out.

Here we go.

***

“His name is Gavin Free,”

I know Gavin is good, God, he is fucking amazing. But what I think doesn't really matter at the moment, what matters is what Geoff thinks. I’ve been nervous about the confrontation all day, even though I know Gavin has the right skill set, I’m still anxious about what Geoff will say. If he doesn’t like Gavin, I might be fucked and we may have to just teach Ryan the basics of guitar and find a new security guy.

I chew up the inside of my cheeks as Geoff’s eyes scan over the picture of Gavin that Barbara snatched off of Facebook and shoved into my hands this morning. Geoff’s lips purse and my shoulders tense up as I recognize that iconic Judgmental Geoff Stare. From the second I walked into Geoff’s office, I have been doing nothing but giving Gavin a glowing review, I just hope Geoff trusts me.

Geoff nods, clearly taking this option into consideration.

“Okay,” Geoff says, letting out a deep breath.

He looks up at me and says, “I’ll trust you Michael.”

I heave a sigh of relief at that.

“But I still want to hear him play,” he points a stern finger at me, “today.”

I nod profusely, a huge grin already spreading across my face.

“Yes, no problem, Geoff, I’ve got you!” I call out as I stand up and head for the door.

After pumping a fist in the air victoriously as soon as I exit Geoff’s office, I make a quick dash over to the break room.

I need to find Barbara.

Upon opening the break room door, I find Barbara hunched over her laptop, clearly focused on some important business emails. She looks up at me when I stop in front of her and she sends me a quizzical look.

“Barb, I need you to call Gavin to the studio pronto,” Barbara nods quickly and grabs around the couch of her cell phone, an enthusiastic smile now taking over her face. She finally digs her cell phone out of one of the crevices in the couch and flips it open. I sit down on the couch next to her and stare at the phone that she now has pressed against her ear. We wait for Gavin to pick up.

We both perk up when we hear Gavin’s thick British accent on the other line.

“Gav, hey!” Barbara says, animatedly talking to Gavin for a few minutes, her phone snugly secured between her ear and shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, okay listen to me for a second here,” She says, interrupting Gavin in the middle of what sounds like the squeal of a teenage girl.

You need to come to the studio, ASAP, alright? Geoff wants to hear you play too before he gives the official thumbs up.”

She pauses for a minute as Gavin responds.

“Sure, I’ve got you, Gav, I’m sure it shouldn't be a problem, hold on one second.” She lowers her phone, cupping a hand over it and looks over at me.

“He’s got to finish his shift up at the record shop, but I should be able to pick him up and bring him to the studio when he’s done in about an hour or so.” She says and I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now.

“I’m sure Geoff has got room in his schedule, he’s just been planning last minute stuff for tour, so it shouldn't be a problem.”

She smiles and nods, reassuring Gavin that everything is all set to go and that he can meet us at the studio at six o’clock.

Ray has been sitting across from us idle for the past ten minutes playing his DS, probably trying to perfect Pokemon for the third time. I thought he was paying us no attention, but I find out that I was wrong as I look across from where we are seated on the couch and see him looking at us curiously.

“Michael did you hire a new guitarist and not tell anyone else? You know, you should really be more honest with your band-mates and not keep secrets from us. Like how you didn't tell us that Caleb quit.”, he asks, eyes narrowed at me. 

“Wait…You know that Caleb quit?”

Ray shrugs, “Of course I know, I over-heard you and Geoff panicking about it.”

“Oh,” I say, dumfounded.

“Whatever, I’ll let it slip,” He leans in closer and whispers as if we’re exchanging secrets, which is ironic since he was all about honestly only five-seconds ago, “So… who is it?”

I sigh and lean in too, “His name is Gavin Free.” I whisper back and Ray quirks a brow at me. 

“Dude that is like, the least rock n’ roll name I’ve ever heard.”

Barbara shakes her head next to me and stands up with her laptop tucked under her arm to walk out of the break room. My eyes follow her and then move back to Ray when she’s out of sight. 

“Like the name Ray Narvaez Jr is any more rock n’ roll.” I deadpan.

He just glares at me and I roll my eyes and then stand up to go and tell Geoff of his new plans for the evening.

***

“So, show me what you’ve got, kid.” Geoff says tiredly, twirling a finger in the air as he slumps back into the couch. I am the one Geoff chose to tag along with him, Lindsay and Ray having decided to ditch us for milkshakes, still bitter that we didn't talk to them about any of this.

Gavin nods his head and sticks his tongue out as he focuses on adjusting his guitar strap and tweaking with the tuning pegs. This time, even with my manager present — who is really the deciding force of Gavin’s fate at this point — Gavin shows no hesitance as he jumps right into All Set To Go.

Throughout the entire set, Geoff is leaning in further and further outward from the couch. He nods his head along thoughtfully as Gavin plays a set of five songs, All Set To Go is ours and the rest are all covers. But we can teach him our setlist of songs in the days leading up to tour.

Geoff shows no range of emotion on his face as Gavin plays, even at the very end of his set, Geoff is still expressionless and hard to read. After Gavin finishes up his set, it feels like an hour has passed by before Geoff says anything. Gavin and I are both left on edge as Geoff takes his precious time weighing his options, not that this isn't a big decision. Geoff’s silences have this kind of off-putting effect that makes my stomach churn and coil. I feel like I am back in Austin at that one old bar we used to play a few days out of the week. As soon as we heard that Geoff Ramsey was in town, we knew we had to play that night. All of us were buzzing with nerves and anxiety, but we ended up being the ones he chose. This moment is almost as terrifying as that experience.

Gavin is shifting uncomfortably under Geoff’s piercing eyes. Eventually Geoff breaks out into a wide grin, eyes more lax than I have seen them in weeks, as he gets up to pat Gavin roughly on the back and pulling him into a tight embrace.

Geoff pulls back after a few seconds and says, “You are damn good, Gavin, welcome to The Achievement Hunters.”

Gavin cannot seem to stop smiling and staring dreamily seemingly at nothing.

“Thank you so much! Jesus Christ,” He laughs as if he cannot believe this is actually happening to him.

Geoff laughs, “Actually, it’s Geoff Ramsey.”

Gavin smiles lop-sidedly at Geoff and our manager sneaks a glance at me, “You have a good eye, Michael, almost as good as mine.”

All of a sudden, I’m starting to feel a lot more confident about tour. But we still have a lot of training to do.

***

I am dozing off in the middle of yet another one of Ray’s grand speeches about how we are going to ‘kick ass’ and ‘put on the best show Missouri has ever seen.’

Lindsay nudges me in the ribs to stop me from falling asleep and I groan, “I’m tired, Linds, leave me alone.” I whine.

She nudges me again and I shoot her a venomous look, she glares back at me so I relent and go back to listening to Ray. Lindsay snickers and goes back to working on whatever she has going on her laptop. Gavin has been buzzing with energy, ever since—ever since he stepped into the practice space, really—we stepped onto the private jet that Geoff managed to snag for us, just to add some luxury to the pre-tour celebration. Gavin has also been leaning over to me to whisper little excited, “I’m so ready for tonight!”s.

“But I feel so nervous as well,” Gavin whispers to me, “what if the crowd boo’s me or something?”

“You’ll be fine, Gav.” I murmur lazily.

There are a few things I have learned about Gavin Free in my short time of knowing him — none of it Barbara felt the need to warn me about. One of the first things I learned, which he is doing right now, is that he overshares a lot. Things you never wanted to know about him, he feels the need to share anyway. It’s almost brave, really. But that doesn't mean Michael understands it any better.

“But what if they throw, like, tomatoes at me or something! I do not want to end up with a black eye the first day of tour.”

“I think the only thing that will be thrown at you are the ladies’ bras,” Lindsay jokes, waggling her eyebrows and Gavin laughs bashfully. It seems Lindsay has been eavesdropping on our conversation. To be fair, though, it isn't like Gavin is quiet or anything.

“Yeah, Gavin, I’m sure the ladies will be swooning over you in no time.” Ray adds. Gavin laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

Lindsay quirks a brow at him, “You okay there?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m top!”, Gavin is also, apparently, an obviously awful liar.

Lindsay does not seem to be convinced either as her eyes narrow, but she nods her head slowly and brushes it off for now and returns her focus back to her laptop again.

“Gav, hey!”, Ray calls out, “You play the DS, right?”

Gavin nods his head in affirmation.

“Sweet! Okay, listen. It has become a tradition for us to have Mario Cart competitions and we could always use more players, you in?” Ray asks and Gavin nods enthusiastically.

“Wait, you can play…But on one condition,” Geoff says and points a finger in Ray’s direction, “do not play in the bunks. I know how you play, and I do not need any trips to the Emergency Room during tour from anyone banging their head on the ceiling to cheer or scream, okay?”

Ray nods begrudgingly, rolling his eyes and mouthing, ‘no fun.’ Geoff smirks proudly, thinking he has one this one. But I know better and know that Ray’s promise was false. Plenty of incidents like that have happened on previous tours back when we were in the little, white van. The ceilings were low and of course someone was going to hit their head on the ceiling during an intense gaming session. It’s a surprise that none of us have severe brain damage yet.

The plane falls into a deep silence as everyone becomes preoccupied with their own electronics and Geoff gets busy with his paperwork. And, to Lindsay’s disapprovals, I end up falling asleep.

We arrive at the airport only a few hours later and I wake up to find myself leaning against Gavin , my head rested upon his shoulder. Gavin, it seems, had apparently fallen asleep as well while listening to music, his ear buds still in his ears. He is snoring softly and I stare for a few minutes, mesmerized, before shaking him away.

“We’re here, dude.”

Gavin nods groggily and stretches before bending over to collect his carry on items. I begin to do the same and once everyone is packed up, and Geoff has double checked that we have left nothing behind, we follow Geoff out of the jet where a limousine is waiting to escort us to the venue.

“You’re really going all out, aren't you Geoff.” I note as I let out a loud yawn, stretching my arms above my head.

“Hey, it is the first day of tour, it’s the least I can do.” He says, shrugging casually.

Geoff starts to inform us about the details of tonight’s show and makes sure we all are aware of the songs on the setlist, we all nod along to each and every question he asks as we make our way to the venue.

***

By the time we arrive, Ryan is standing in front of the door, walking over as soon as we all have stepped out of the limo. He goes up to Geoff and they shake hands before leading us all backstage where the roadies have almost finished setting up for the show. I watch with amusement as I watch Brandon and Chris rushing around the stage, fumbling around with different chords and cables. Miles and Kerry are unloading the different instruments to be passed out to us in between different songs.

After Ryan explains the technicalities of the show to Geoff and… Jack — who has just now arrived — The rest of us wander off to the dressing room. All with the exception of Ray, who most likely is planning to go fuck with Ryan is some way or another. He will probably sit on an amp while playing his DS or something. It’s funny, really, how Ray and Ryan’s whole relationship works. Back in the day, Ray used to just sit on the amps because he had nowhere else to sit and didn't want to sit on the dirty floor, but Ray has begun to do it on purpose at this point. The second we managed to find Ryan and add him to our small crew on our last tour, Ray instantly took a liking to him, which meant Ray would pester Ryan whenever possible. It’s Ray’s own idea of endearment. Ryan just thinks he is a total asshole, but still tolerates him, occasionally getting revenge. Occasionally.

The rest of us enter the dressing room, after walking around the venue a couple times as if it is some kind of maze. My eyes immediately go towards the complimentary good left for us, I rush over to the table and start gobbling down mini sandwiches. I have barely been eating, in between rehearsals and all of the other shit we’ve been doing, there hasn't been time to eat anything besides junk food. Lindsay’s first stop is the bathroom, having complained the entire ride here that next time Geoff should find a jet with a bathroom (Ah yes, the first world problems of luxury). Geoff defensively argued that Lindsay should be grateful that he at least got us a comfortable flight here. Lindsay stopped arguing with him after that — reluctantly — and did not speak to him for the rest of the rid, sending him the occasional glare.

this leaves Gavin and me as the only ones left in the room. Alone. He is kicking his feel nervously against the legs of the table. I pick up on his worried expression and take a seat next to him, offering one of the sandwiches to him. He shakes his head and I shrug, “Suit yourself.” I say before stuffing it into my mouth.

He continues to kick at the table, I start to get annoyed, and place a hand on his knee. The sound of foot-to-wood impact halts, and he looks over to me with a puzzled expression.

“First of all, that sound is fucking annoying,” I note, he lowers his head guiltily at that.

“Second of all, everything will be fine. The news is already spreading fast that Caleb has left the band, so everybody already knows. I’m sure some are heartbroken, but they are going to love you.”

It seems I have succeeded at reassuring him as he sends me a more confident smile now.

“Thanks, Michael.”

“Of course, buddy,” I say and give him a pat on the back and he chuckles.

Lindsay walks out of the bathroom and sits next to us, we fall into a deep conversation about anything other than tonight’s show. This seems to distract Gavin from his previous anxiety. There is absolutely nothing to worry about, the worst thing that could happen is somebody “boo’s” right?

One of the roadies brings in our change of outfits. Nothing too flashy or fashionable, but we aren't about any of the costumes, we’re about the show.

So, let’s fucking do this.

***

“Helloooo, Saint Louis!” Ray drawls loudly into the microphone, and the crowd screams so loud that it is nearly deafening.

I wince, but flash the crowd a smile once I recover from the initial loudness.

“We are The Achievement Hunters, thank you so very much for coming out to hear us play tonight, you’re all beautiful!” Ray pipes up, fueling the roar of the crowd.

We launch into the first song and the energy on stage is making the pulse in my veins skyrocket and I am pumping with adrenaline. The crowd is cheering so loud, but the sound of the music drowns them out for me. Because that’s what really matters here, the music.

After the Lindsay’s drum solo at the end, and I am drenched in sweat already, not used to the bright lights of the stage just yet. Ray begins the introductions. The screaming and applause getting even loud as he announces my name. A girl from the front row yelling, “I love you, Michael.”

I laugh into the mic and say, “Love you too.”

“Now…You all may notice an unfamiliar face here onstage tonight,” He announces. I watch as Ray walks over to Gavin, swinging an arm around Gavin and squeezing his shoulders. I feel a pang of…something inside me at that.

I look over to Gavin who is waiting, expectantly, for Ray to call out his name and introduce him to the sea of people in front of us. He looks nervous and his face is flushed under the harsh lights of the stage. Or that could just be from nervousness as he is now holding his fender closer to his chest, gripping the neck tight. 

“I would like to introduce you to our new touring member of the band…Gavin Free!” He bellows, not worried at all about any negative reactions that the crowd might have for our last minute replacement for Caleb. The crowd cheers nonetheless and Gavin’s eyes glitter and gleam as he breaks out into a toothy grin, giving Ray a one armed hug before Ray laughs and walks back over to his place on my left side. Gavin looks my way and my mouth curls up into a proud smile. He then goes back to adjusting the guitar strap around his shoulder before we jump right into the next song.

I feel the beat thump heavily and everyone begins to play their instruments, it sends shivers up my spine as the rhythm impacts every side of the stage floor beneath me. I lift my head to face the crowd, taking a deep breath before belting out the first line. The audience screams and sing along the lyrics with me. It’s one of the most surreal feelings I’ve ever know, having someone sing your lyrics back to you.

At the end of the song, I look back over to Gavin one more time whose smile is now impossibly wide. His is singing the back up vocals along perfectly, and it looks like this is right where he belongs.

***

The next morning I am greeted by the sound of everyone climbing out of their bunks, rushing to the front room where Jack promised us doughnuts would be waiting. I remain still and sleepy in my bunk after the rest of them have left the space. The show has left me exhausted and my throat is burning. Besides, everyone always says in interviews that I am the most lazy when it comes to bus call in the morning.

“One day down, and after tonight, nineteen more to go!”, I hear Ray chime loudly, his voice muffled by the door. I start moving to get up and I bump my head, of course.

“Shit,” I hiss and I hear someone stir in the bunk above me, then I slide my bunk’s curtain open to see Gavin’s head peaking down to look at me.

“You alright down there?” he asks and I nod.

“Dude, do not lean over that ledge or you are totally going to fall and break your head open.” I say pointedly and he just chuckles obnoxiously, his head disappearing back up into his bunk.

I slide out of the confined space and see Gavin climb down after me.

When I slide back the door and enter the lounge I see everyone packed together on the couch. Geoff is hunched over at the small coffee table with Jack, a stack of papers in the middle of the table. Jack momentarily stops sipping on his coffee to say hello and I wave in turn.

I take a seat in between Gavin and Lindsay, grabbing one of the stick donuts from the box on the couch. Ray and Lindsay both have their DS out, in the middle of a very competitive round of Mario Cart.

“God dammit, Ray!” Lindsay yells in frustration, Ray’s mouth twisting into a cruel smile.

After they finish the round, Ray having beaten Lindsay, Lindsay throws her DS down next to her and it bounces on the cushioned surface of the couch. She crosses her arms in irritation and pouts like a child.

After a little while, the air of bitter defeat fades and Lindsay wraps an arm around my shoulder. “How are you feeling?” she asks.

“Peachy,” I mutter, still groggy and tired.

She puffs out a laugh and leans her head on my shoulder, “This tour is going to kick ass, you’ll see. Last night was great.”

“Thanks, Linds.” I hum, letting out a yawn and lean back into the couch. The doughnut I grabbed is now forgotten, slipping out of my hand until Lindsay grabs it and shoves it in my face.

“Eat, idiot. You need the energy.” She says insistently. I want to tell her that ,actually, doughnuts have little to no nutritional value, but I am too tired to argue so I start to eat the sticky doughnut.

“Michael, Ray, Gavin!” Geoff calls out and all three of us perk up to listen to him.

“You three are needed over at the venue to help the crew with some heavy lifting,” Ray opens his mouth to protest, but Geoff raises a hand to stop him so he can finish.

“Miles and Kerry left to get food for the crew, but haven't come back yet, so Ryan needs you. Get your asses over there and don't complain.

Ray groans and slumps back dramatically into the couch.

“But what about Lindsay?” He whines.

“She was the one who went out at the ass crack of dawn to buy you jack asses these doughnuts, so I’m going to give her a free pass.”

“Unfair, this is bullshit,” Ray mutters under his breath.

Lindsay breaks out into a childish grin and sticks her tongue out at Ray. Ray scoffs in return and proceeds to sulk until I pat him roughly on the shoulder.

“Hey, at least this gives you to pester Ryan for the next few hours.” I point out and he nods thoughtfully.

“Oh and hey, Gavin hasn’t properly met Ryan, so this is our chance to introduce them to each other.” I add.  
“Well, get a fucking move on then.” Geoff urges, and Ray makes a point of groaning once more as we all stand up to go get ready.

***

Backstage is in its usual state of chaos for our second show. The crew rushing around to get all of our gear ready and double checking all of the pyrotechnics and other effects. I look around for Ryan and eventually spot him inspecting Blaine’s handiwork. Ryan nods his head at whatever Blaine is saying and I attempt to wave him over to ask for the setlist, but he doesn't notice me and I huff. Gavin jogs up to me.

“Michael! Aren’t you excited for the show tonight? The crowd is going mental.” He asks me with a broad smile.

Gavin starts to ramble on mindlessly about some random shit while I tune my guitar. Geoff is running around trying to find Jack. He came up to me to ask if I’d seen him at least five times.

“Boys! Come on we’ve got a show to do!” Ryan hollers and we walk over to where Ryan is beckoning.

When we are at the side of the stage, Gavin is rocking back and forth on his heels. Before we go on stage he looks at me and flashes another goofy grin. This fucker is going to be the death of me isn't he?


	2. Chapter 2

“Michael?” I hear someone whisper as they draw back the curtain of my bunk. I groan as the harsh lights hit my face.

“Michael, it’s time to get up,” Someone whispers a little louder. This person has a heavy accent, so even through the sleepy haze, I now can decipher who is talking to me.

I turn over, and before I can even get a word in, I hear a loud, almost bird-like squawking noise.

“Oi!” Gavin squeaks, jerking his body backwards into the bunks on the other side.

“Bloody hell, Michael!” Gavin cries, wiping at his now bloody nose.

“Oh, shit!” I shout, shooting upwards in my bunk and nearly bumping my head.

“Fuck, I am so sorry! Sometimes, uh—sometimes that just happens when people try to wake me up!” I say akwardly.

Gavin continues to cower on the floor and stare at me like he I am some sort of monster, and I laughs nervously.

“Let me guess, Ray put you up to this, didn’t he?”

Gavin nods his head slowly and I sigh, climbing out of my bunk and sinking down to where Gavin is laying on the floor. I inspect Gavin’s bloody nose. It’s kind of crooked, but maybe it always was that way.

“Doesn’t look good because of all of the blood, but I don't think it’s broken.” I say and Gavin chuckles.

“Good, I already fell on it as a kid.”

“You fell on your nose?” I ask in awe.

“Yep, didn't break it but it went all crooked.” He says, as if it's a fond memory.

I'm still blinking at him, and he bursts into a fit of laughter. 

“It's not that ridiculous Michael,”

“You fell on your own goddamn nose!” I exclaim and he continues laughing loudly. His laugh is squeaky and uneven, but it makes me laugh as well.

“Alright, you idiots,” I hear Geoff say with a loud knock at the door, “get your asses in gear.”

Gavin and I exchange glances and get up to open the door. Gavin gets there first and lets me walk through before he does.

“Such a gentleman,” I tease and he shoves me playfully.

“Shut up, ya’ dope.” Gavin says.

*** 

“Alright, Gavin,” Jack says, all business-like, “this is your first interview so there’s a few things you should know.”

Gavin nods along as Jack lists off all of the “rules” of interviews—all the things that Lindsay, Ray and I had to learn along the way. I wish we had received a list of rules before our first interview, if I’m being honest.

Once Jack is finished with his spiel, he shoos Gavin and me off to the interviewer. Gavin doesn’t appear nervous at all, which is almost surprising. If I were him I’d be more weary of interviews than I would be of playing a show. Our first interview ever was, frankly, fucking terrifying.

The interviewer is sitting at the edge of the stage, waiting for us. As we draw closer she perks up and greets each of us with a firm handshake.

“I’m Lauren, I’m here to interview you guys for a local paper!” She says, a wide smile stretched across her face.

“Lovely to meet you, Lauren.” Gavin says.

Lauren then goes on to walk us down from the side of the stage, down to the floor where chairs have already been set up.

“I think it’s best if we all take a seat and get more comfortable,” Lauren says.

I block out whatever she is saying for a moment to ask Gavin, “Why are you so enthusiastic about this? You were so nervous about the show last night.”

“Talking nonsense is what I do best, Michael. Should be a piece of cake.” Gavin says confidently and I suppose he is right about that.

The interviewer takes a seat at one of the chairs at the very front, so Gavin and I pull two chairs out so that they're directly across from her and sit down. She takes out a piece of paper and a notebook.

“So, let’s start off with one of the big questions,” I hold my breath. She’s going to ask about Caleb leaving isn't she?

“Michael, what inspired you to get into the world of music?” Lauren asks excitedly and I’m surprised. “Big questions” sounded so daunting.

“Well, uh, I just always loved listening to my dad’s old rock n’ roll records,” I say plainly, “then for my fifteenth birthday, I got my very first guitar and the rest is history.”

“So fascinating,” Lauren says, scribbling my answer down in her little notebook.

“Now, Steven, right?” Lauren asks and Gavin laughs.

“Gavin,” Gavin says and Lauren looks embarrassed.

“Right, Gavin,” She says, looking back at her page of questions.

“So, how does it feel being apart of The Achievement Hunters?”

Gavin beams, “It’s top! I’ve never been on a tour before, but I already can’t wait to play every show that’s coming up, including tonight’s.”

She nods absently and writes down Gavin’s response. This is the one thing I hate about these people, always writing everything we say down in their fucking notebook.

“So, what do you guys think of Chicago?”

We’ve only seen this venue and a deep-dish-pizza place where we had dinner last night. What is there to think of a place that you’ve barely gotten to walk around in?

“It’s a very nice city,” I say with a fake smile.

She writes that down in her notebook.

*** 

Lunch time rolls around so Gavin, Lindsay, Ray and I all go to another fucking pizza place for lunch. Deep dish pizza is good, it’s great, but it has the tendency to make me feel sick to my stomach after eating it.

We order a big, deep dish pizza with every topping of which I only take two slices.  
Ray is in a heated debate with Lindsay about who the best bassist ever is, I pay no attention to them. Instead, I am watching Gavin as he eats. Which, okay, sounds only slightly creepy.

“Whatcha staring at Michael?” Ray asks and I snap out of it.

“Nothing, just staring off into space I guess.” I say, trying to shake myself out of the weird funk I was in.

Ray shrugs, “Alrighty then.”

Ray goes back to his discussion with Lindsay, so I find myself going back to staring at Gavin. I study the features on his face like how his eyes sorta crinkle up at the edges, or how his hair seems to defy gravity.

Gavin turns around once he is finished with his pizza and I whip my head around so he doesn't notice my staring. I think my rapid head movement only makes it more obvious.

If Gavin noticed, he doesn’t say anything. He only goes for another slice of pizza.

“So, how long have you been in the states, Gav?” I ask and Gavin hums.

“For a few years, my family moved here back in ’05.”

“Oh, cool.” I say.

There is silence between Gavin and I for the remainder of our time at the restaurant. The only is that of Ray and Lindsay talking.

*** 

Everything is going according to schedule so far, we play all the songs we have to play and things are running smoothly. That is until Gavin pulls out a fucking camcorder. One thing that Barbara, apparently, did not notify me of is that Gavin is a film enthusiast. A film enthusiast who, on occasion, makes his own films.

“My mate Dan sent it to me as a gift for Christmas! I thought that I could, y’know, record some stuff from around the country. Just for this leg of the tour. Just to show the family back home?” Gavin spouts to an annoyed looking Geoff.

“As long as it won’t get in the way, I’m fine with it.” Geoff says, arms folded.

Gavin nods, “I promise you, it won’t, sir!”

Geoff groans, “Please do not call me ‘sir’, it makes me feel really fucking old.”

I snicker from my side of the stage and Geoff shoots me a glare.

I go back to plucking at my guitar’s strings as Gavin walks up to me and shoves the camcorder directly into my face. I reel backwards, lose my balance, fall on my ass and Gavin bursts out laughing.

“Gavin. What. The. Fuck.” I say and Gavin keeps on laughing.

“You dick! Help me up at least, would ya’?” I ask.

Gavin wipes a tear away from his eye and extends an arm out to help me up. I grab hold of his and regain my stance.

I go to brush off whatever dust clung to my jeans, but Gavin still hasn’t let go of my hand.

“Dude, you can let go now.” I say and Gavin blushes.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” He coughs and puts the camera down.

“Let me see that thing,” I say, making grabby hands at the camera.

Gavin holds it back protectively.

“How do I know you wont try to break it or something?” He asks skeptically.

“I promise not to break it if you don't shove it in my face again.” I say and he huffs.

“Fine.” He mutters begrudgingly and hands the little camcorder over to me.

I fiddle with it for a little bit before I find the ‘record’ button and press it. The second I see that little red circle start blinking, I shove the camcorder in Gavin’s face. Sweet, sweet revenge.

To my displeasure, Gavin just steps back a bit and looks unimpressed.

“You little shit, you were supposed to fall on your ass!” I shout and Gavin giggles. He has the nerve to fucking giggle.

I stick my tongue out at him and he bursts into a fit of laughter. I shoot him a glare and he skips away from me like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

I go back to strumming out the riff to “Retroactive”, humming the lyrics.

I am taken aback as a bright, white light hits me for a second. I blink my eyes and look up to see a very smug looking Gavin Free with his camcorder. Which can apparently also take flash photos. Whoopee.

“Why the hell would you do that? You could have, like, blinded me or something.” I say, my vision blurry from the sudden flash.

“I just had to take a picture of you,” He says and I blink at him.

“Michael, you’re beautiful.” Gavin says, sounding both serious and smug.

“Oh my God,” I say, rolling my eyes at him.

“Alright, jackasses, time to get to the dressing room, we’ve got a show to do.” Geoff says from the back of the stage.

Gavin flashes me a toothy grin and I find myself smiling in turn, despite myself.

*** 

The show in Chicago is, to put it plainly, another huge success. The crowd is lively, screaming our names and singing along to every song. No other feeling can beat the rush in my veins as the stage lights hit my face, as everyone claps and cheers for us. Nothing will ever, ever top that.

Ray is just as playful with the crowd as he always is. During the show he got Ryan to agree to let him interact with the barricade. Ray was perched up on Ryan’s shoulders, letting the people in the barricade touch his hand and singing along the lyrics with them.

Practicing at the studio and recording in the booth is one thing, but its a whole other world when you get to see people sing those lyrics back to you live and in person.

By far, my favorite song to sing live is “We’re All Off Topic”, it’s the hit single off of our most recent record, and everyone goes wild for it. My second favorite being “Help Figure Me Out”, it’s one of the more personal songs I’ve written and I can see some fans crying as they sing along, holding up their lighters and waving along to the song.

As we come off stage that night, everyone is cheering and giving each other hard pats on the back and one armed embraces. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.

“That was bloody brilliant!” Gavin chirps from beside me and I laugh.

“That might've been one of the best shows we’ve put on so far, great job everybody!” I shout and everyone cheers so loud I’m sure the fans could hear us from backstage.

*** 

When we’re back on the bus, it’s time for our first official Game Night. We try to have them as often as we can on tour, just so we don't get bored and start to get pissy with each other. Not that it doesn't always end up happening anyway, but you get my point. It’s important to bond or some cheesy shit like that.

“What is game night?” Gavin asks.

“You know, a bonding exercise so there’s less of a chance of us murdering each other on the bus.” I say with a casual shrug of my shoulders.

“Oh,”

We end up choosing Mario Cart Wii and Ray is totally kicking all of our asses, as per usual. We all have our little remote control wheels and Gavin has a very focused look on his face, tongue poking out.

I growl in frustration as Ray, once again, sends me spinning off of the course and into the center. He better be thanking God that he didn't choose Rainbow Road or I’d chop off his head for knocking me off of the course.

“Ray, you little shit!” Lindsay shouts from the left of me as Ray knocks her character off of the course as well.

“This is rubbish,” Gavin mutters from my right and I snicker.

“Only when Ray is playing,” I say and Gavin smiles at me.

His smile is so distracting that I don’t notice Ray throwing a banana peel behind him that sends my car soaring off of the track.

“God dammit, Ray!”

“You’re fault for being distracted by Gavin,” Ray says, eyes still stuck to the screen.

I sputter, “I wasn’t—“

Gavin bursts into a fit of laughter.

“It’s okay, Michael, I know I’m a catch.”

“Ha, you fucking wish.” I say, turning my head back to the screen to try and kick Ray’s ass.

I don’t succeed in doing so, seeing as Ray has turtle shells and banana peels galore. He is merciless as usual, not giving a single fuck about how many people he ruins.

On second thought, maybe this isn't such a good bonding exercise.

I groan and throw my controller into Gavin’s lap in frustration, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Jackass,” I murmur to Ray who laughs at that.

“Someone’s a sore loser,” Ray says smugly and I shoot him a glare.

“Whatever, maybe we should watch a movie instead or something.” I mutter and Ray nods.

“What should we watch?” Lindsay pipes up and I shrug.

“I don’t know, Linds, you’re the one with the DVD collection. You pick.” I say and she nods like she is about to go on an important mission. Which I mean, it kind of is.

Lindsay and Ray end up settling on the Breakfast Club.

I watch the movie for about ten minutes before I start to get tired. Gavin has retrieved a blanket from the floor and thrown it over the both of us. Because, fun fact: Tour buses are fucking cold.

I start to doze off about halfway through the movie, and then sleep takes over me.

*** 

I wake up in the middle of the night, looking up to the clock above the little TV that says it’s midnight. There are two thing I wake up to. One of them is peaceful, and comforting. Then the other is creepy and staring at me.

The first thing is Gavin, who is sleeping soundly under me. His chest rising and falling as he snores softly.

Then, the more disturbing thing, is Ray. He has apparently been watching us sleep and has a smirk on his face.

“Have you noticed how tangled up you two are?” He whispers.

I quirk a brow at him in confusion until I look down. Gavin’s legs and my legs are intertwined and our chests pressed together. My head was probably resting on his chest before I woke up, so comforting and—Fuck. Somehow we managed to shift into the position, I think this is just the universe trying to fuck with me or something.

“Now, that. That is the gayest thing I have ever seen in my life.” Ray says with a snicker.

“Oh, I don’t know Narvaez, that one porno you watched where—“

“Hey, we don’t talk about that.” Ray says warningly, pointing a finger at me.

“Okay,” I say with a roll of my eyes.

“Go back to sleep, little love bird.” Ray cooes and I glare at him.

Ray leaves and I check to make sure he is gone before I put my head back down on Gavin’s chest and snuggle up into him. Just a few more minutes, then I’ll go back to my bunk.

Just a few more minutes…


	3. Chapter 3

“Bro, they have rollercoasters in here—mother fucking rollercoasters!” Ray says in complete awe as we all stop in front of the gate to the theme park in the mall. Of course the biggest mall in all of America has a fucking theme park.

Geoff decided, after all of Ray’s begging and whining, that today would be a fine day to visit the Mall of America. So here we are, along with Ryan whom Ray insisted on brining. Not that I don’t like Ryan or anything, I think Ray has a big boner for the guy, honestly.

“We have _got_ to go on that thing!” Ray insists, attempting to drag me in the direction of the park with all of its this-can-only-end-in-disaster-coasters.

“Dude, hell no,” I say, shaking my head furiously.

“Aw, come on,” Ray whines, “where’s that adventurous Michael Jones that I know and love? How often do you get to ride a rollercoaster at the mall?”

“Not a whole lot, Ray, and I think there’s a reason for that.” I say and Ray pouts.

I look over to my right and Geoff looks fear-stricken, staring at the coasters in the distance.

“Hell yeah, there’s a fucking reason for that! Do you know how dangerous these things probably are?”

Ray feigns a look of shock.

“Wow, you really are getting old, Geoff.” Ray says, Geoff huffs and rolls his eyes.

“Or…Oh, I see,” Ray adds with a shit-eating grin, “you’re worried about us, aren't you?”  
“Yeah, when you’re on a huge tour in which we need you alive to perform, as your manager, I don’t want you crashing into the food court and dying.”

“I still think—“

“Say one more thing about me being old and you're fucking dead, Narvaez,” Geoff warns and Ray scoffs.

“I thought you didn't want us dead,” Ray mutters.

“Meh, bassists are replaceable,” Geoff says and walks away, Ray is left with his mouth hanging open.

Geoff is actually lying, if someone else dropped out of the band or was found dead, he would probably drop dead himself.

Despite that, I burst out laughing at Ray’s expression and Ray glares at me pointedly.

“Have fun on your playdates, kids!” Geoff shouts as he walks further and further away from the group.

“Ryan, you’ll go on the cool roller coaster with me won’t you?” Ray asks, batting his eyelashes.

Ryan shrugs, “Sure.”

“You’re fucking crazy, Ryan,” I say and Ryan shrugs again.

“You’ve just gotta live on the edge sometimes, Michael,” Ryan says smugly and I squint at him.

“I am perfectly capable of living on the edge, just not on a fucking death-trap,” I say.

“You’re being contradictory,” Ryan says and I want to punch him in his stupid, perfect face.

“Whatever, Ray only wants to spend time with you so you’ll be his boy-toy,” I say.

“I told you, Michael, I banged a totally hot chick last night! I don’t need a boy-toy!” Ray protests, but I can see right through him. I’ve seen Ray bring dudes back to hotels before countless times, he’s just trying to cover his tracks.

“Yeah, sure, Ray,” I huff, “just remember that you can’t stay in the closet forever!”

Ray pays me no attention as he pulls Ryan along with him to the ticket booth in front of the theme park.

Gavin is still parading around his camcorder, shoving it in people’s faces as he talks to them or asks them the most redundant fucking questions. I curse under my breath as he approaches me, I stick up my hand and press it against the lens.

“Michael!” He whines, “You’re going to dirty up the lens doing that!”

“I’m just trying to protect my privacy,” I say in mock defense.

“Yeah, ‘cos putting out music with all of your secrets and stories is so private…” Gavin mutters and I roll my eyes.

“Fine, do your little V-log or whatever you call it,” I say, pulling my hand away from the lens and Gavin smiles.

I see Lindsay racing toward us in my peripheral, a huge grin stretched across her face.

“Guys, I just checked the directory and they have a Gamestop here! Let’s go!” Lindsay says, grabbing my by the hand and tugging.

I smile and let her pull me along, Gavin trailing behind us with his camcorder still in front of his face. We go up a few sets of escalators to get to the store, I’m just thankfull that there are not many actual flights of stairs involved. This place is fucking huge. When we finally reach the store, Lindsay pulls me in, having held my hand the entire time on our trek up here.

Gavin has been surprisingly quiet, putting his camcorder away into the little draw-string bag he has with him as we enter the store. His eyes are focused on where Lindsay’s hand is grasping mine. I decide to shrug it off. He stares into space a lot, that is another thing I’ve learned about Gavin Free.

We haven't even been in the store for an hour yet, browsing the various shelves, before I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. I furrow my brows and and pull it out, who the fuck is calling me right now? My mom? Probably my mom.

I look at the caller ID on the little screen on the front and see Geoff’s name. Close enough.

I flip the cell phone open and I hear Geoff’s voice, stressed and breaking on the other end.

“Have you seen Ray?”

“Um, can’t say I have? I'm with Lindsay and Gav, right now,” I inform him and he groans, “what’s wrong?”

“After Ryan and Ray finished riding the roller coasters, Ryan lost track of Ray at some point as they were walking back to the actual mall and now we have no fucking clue where he is! Ryan’s more worried than I am.” Geoff says, taking a deep breath as he finishes.

I could almost laugh out loud at the image I have in my head of Ryan looking around the theme park for Ray like a parent who has lost their child.

“Okay, we’ll help you look for him, he’s probably in the food court or something so let’s all meet up there,” I say and I hear Geoff heave a sigh.

“Thanks, Michael.”

“No problem, Geoffrey,” I say and hang up.

“We have to go hunt down Ray!” I call out to Lindsay and Gavin, who have wandered to the other side of the store.

I see Lindsay nod and Gavin takes out his camcorder again as they walk over to me.

“This will add some drama to the video,” Gavin says excitedly.

“Gavin, you are one special individual,” I say and Gavin giggles.

“You’re special too, Michael! My special little boy…”

***

“Yeah…Can I get a—“

We all stop in our tracks as we see Ray ordering from an Auntie Ann’s up ahead.

“Ray!” Ryan calls out from behind me.

Ryan’s voice catches Ryan’s attention, Ray smiles and waves at Ryan and then goes back to ordering his food. Ryan taps his foot against the floor impatiently as we wait for Ray to get his food. Ray grabs his order from a lady behind the counter and walks over to us, happy as can be.

“You scared me half to death, Ray! You really left me for a soft pretzel?” Ryan asks emphatically, sounding deflated, almost.

“Awe, Ry, come on,” Ray says sympathetically, “I would leave anyone for food, not just you.”

Ryan pouts and Ray pats him on the back, then he takes a bite out of his pretzel.

We spend the next two hours walking around the mall hurdled together. Geoff is too scared of losing one of us thanks to Ray, it’s like being a little kid and having to follow your parents wherever they go. Geoff’s close enough to being a parent with how much he stresses out over us.

“So, how was riding the kiddie coasters with your boyfriend, Ray?” Lindsay asks and Ray grins at Ryan, Ryan’s face going a very noticeable shade of red.

“You’d be jealous, he totally gave me a hand job while we were riding one of them.”

“That sounds like a safety hazard,” Lindsay says and Ray laughs.

We end up going back to the food court before we leave the mall. It takes us ten minutes of arguing to finally settle on going into Benihana.

“I’ve never been to one of these before,” Gavin says to me as we walk in.

“Really?” I ask absently as I look around the restaurant.

“Yeah, the idea of fire blowing up in my face isn't very pleasant,” Gavin says, cringing as he sees one of the chefs light up the grill he’s at.

The hostess guides us to one of the open grills and we all take a seat around it. Gavin and Lindsay sit on either side of me, Ray is of course sitting next to Ryan, which leaves Geoff to sit at the very end.

The hostess sets menus down in front of each of us and Gavin looks overwhelmed as he opens it.

“Michael, I don’t know what to get,” He whispers to me.

“Just get the steak or something,” I say, eyes scanning over my own menu.

“Good idea, Michael, you’re so smart,” Gavin says.

I can never tell if he is being sarcastic or not, he just has one of those tones. I think it’s the accent. I really cannot even decipher what he is talking about half of the time.

We all end up ordering the same thing, except for Lindsay, breaking up the continuity by ordering the salmon.

We wait for the chef to come out, everyone talking amongst themselves. Gavin is asking me questions that I am giving half-assed responses too. Walking around a mall this big for a few hours can really wear you out, I guess.

“Are you okay, Michael?” Gavin asks, looking genuinely concerned.

“Yeah,” I sigh, “just tired ’s all.”

I end up drifting off, my head in my hands, only to be woken up by a wave of heat hitting my face. My eyes open wide and are greeted with a huge burst of fire. I lean back and hear Ray make a dramatic “Oh” and “Ah” sound.

Gavin laughs next to me, apparently having had seen the whole thing. I glare at him and he continues laughing.

I kick him in the leg underneath the table and he squawks, “Michael!”

He kicks me back and we end up going back and forth, kicking at each other like children. We each have a huge grin on our faces until Geoff looks at us and says, “I don’t know what you two are doing, but please stop.”

Gavin’s face falls and he stops kicking at my legs and I stop kicking in turn.

Gavin ends up enjoying the fire and other antics that the chef pulls while he cooks our meal. It’s almost cute how happy Gavin is, his smile getting wider with each little trick the chef performs.

I do not notice that I’ve been staring until the chef ends up shooting a little piece of egg at me. I flinch and look over at the chef who shoots me a playful smile, looking at Gavin then back at me and winking.

Huh.

***

“So,” I hear Gavin say as I’m sitting on the mini couch of the tour bus, watching America’s Next Top Model.

“Are you and Lindsay, like…A thing?”

I slant Gavin a look. A thing?

“What do you mean?” I say, playing dumb.

“Like, y’know…Are you guys—Um—“

“Are you trying to ask if we’re fucking?” I ask and he sputters, face flushing.

“Well, I—I didn't mean for it to come out like _that_ …”

“I don’t think there’s any other way you could have.” I deadpan and Gavin hangs his head.

“And the answer is no,” I say and he looks back up, “No, we are not ‘a thing’.”

“Oh,” Gavin says, shifting uncomfortably.

“Come and watch TV with me, idiot.” I say and Gavin smiles, taking a seat next to me.

“America’s Next Model? Really?”

“Hey, don't judge, bro! Nothing else was on,” I mumble and Gavin laughs at that.

We sit there for two hours straight and Gavin gets really into it. After one of the contestants goes home crying, Gavin laughs hysterically, which is almost frightening.

“Dude, you have no heart!” I say and Gavin only laughs harder.

When Gavin manages to compose himself he says, “I do have a heart, Michael!”

“How could you laugh at someone crying then?” I ask in awe and he shrugs.

“’S just funny.” He says and I quirk a brow at him.

“You’re fucked up,” I say, pointing a finger at him.

“Yeah, but I’m _your_ fucked up,” Gavin teases.

“What the hell does that even mean?” I ask and Gavin chuckles, not saying anything more.

***

It’s all routine by now, the show. It doesn't take that long to get back into the swing of things once you've played a few times. It’s still exhausting as fuck, but hey, if it is what you love doing then it is all worth it. The crowd is going wild, screaming and carrying on throughout the entire show. This might be the most energetic audience we have had yet on this tour. The place is packed, the sea of people stretching far to both my right and left, getting consumed by the dark as it goes further back.

Gavin is as energetic as ever as we play, even coming up to me a few times to sing his backup vocals into the mic with me. Gavin’s accent makes his voice smooth and alluring, compared to my scratchy and loud voice. He’s soft and I’m loud, it sounds perfect when our voices mingle together like that.

We’re playing “Crash and Burn” and the crowd sings along with me.

I point the mic in the direction of the crowd.

“We’ve got this special thing going, you and I,”

Then point the mic back at myself.

“And you know that it’s not hard for me to decide,”

I walk over to Gavin and lean over to whisper into his ear: “Because the world could end a thousand times, but that don't mean shit to me as long as you're by my side.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

I rub my eyes in a futile attempt to work the sleep out of my system. It doesn't work.

All of us were booted out of bed early this morning by a very tired Geoff. The bags under his eyes only getting worse as the days pass by. We are doing an interview for a local college radio station, and I am, to say the least, nowhere near ecstatic. Interviews can be fun sometimes, but when they are at 6:30 in the morning, not so much.

Gavin is supposed to be here too, but he needed to go to the bathroom, which is in a separate building on the small college campus. This is one of the colleges I got accepted into. That was before I decided to drop the idea of college and a successful career after Geoff saw us playing in a nearby, shitty bar.

We are waiting to be called into the room for the interview and it is taking fucking forever. Lindsay is currently in search of much needed caffeine for all of us. The only thing to break up the groggy, tired atmosphere is Ray tapping his stylus against his DS screen. Tap, tap, tap, ta—

“Christ, it’s bloody freezing in here!” A loud voice echoes around the room, effectively destroying the silence.

Ray is startled, jumping in his seat. We both look up and are faced with Gavin, who is hugging himself for warmth. His cheeks are a bright, rosy color and he is shivering wildly.

Lindsay interrupts the greeting I have ready on my tongue as she scurries into the room. She is holding two coffee cups in her hands and is hugging a third against her chest. 

“Sorry, they didn't have any—“

She stops once she notices where my attention is focused. My eyes still set on Gavin. He is still hugging himself tight, rubbing his hands up and down each arm.

“Oh! Gavin, you’re here!”

Lindsay hands both Ray and me our coffees. She then proceeds to grab Gavin’s hand and lead him to where we are sitting.

When Gavin sits down, Ray is still on his DS and proceeds to ignore us for the next ten minutes. He is too preoccupied to even lift his head. I swear to God, he is going to have back problems in his thirties from being hunched over that thing so much.

 _I_ spend those next ten minutes being pestered by Gavin, who I have come to learn, is very persistent when he wants attention. Barbara should have included that in the “How To Tolerate Your Gavin” manual. If she had even given me one to begin with.

He is coming up with the most absurd questions, so ridiculous that I cannot even begin to fathom a response.

“But, Michael—what if they didn't know they were legs? Would they just quit working, or—?”

“I think they would just accept their literal path in life and go back to doing their fucking job, Gavin.”

Lindsay has been listening to our conversation intently, and breaks out into a fit of laughter at that. Before Gavin can come up with a response, a short man with disheveled, long hair walks out of the studio. He beckons us into the room with a finger and we all stand up. Lindsay is the first one to get up and we trail after her into the room.

The room isn't very big, with barely just enough room to fit the big round table at the center of the room. There are a few chairs surrounding the table and we each take a seat at one, trying to get comfortable. The chair I’ve sat myself in feels too small for my thighs, but i still smile at the radio host as he greets us.

The primary interviewer is a guy, who by the looks of it, is probably a senior. He is wearing glasses and an old polo t-shirt that clearly has multiple beer stains. A frat boy possibly?

“First off, I just want to say I’m a huge fan of you guys, we play your music all the time at—I mean—I play it all the time in my room,” suspicions confirmed, “thank you so much for stopping by!” The kid says with a wide grin that is almost creepy.

He is staring at me with what looks to be adoration. If this were a cartoon he would have big hearts beating in his eyes. A gay frat boy? Maybe I’m just flattering myself there.

“It’s no problem, man,” I say, scratching at the nape of my neck nervously. He is still staring at me. Creepy.

He finally takes his eyes off of me and grabs a piece of paper from off of the table and his finger hovers over a button on a panel to the left of him.

“We’re just going to ask you guys a few question from kids here on campus,” he says, “you guys ready?”

We all nod and he presses the big, red button that has a very faded decal that spells out ‘L-I-V-E’. He leans into the microphone.

“Goooood morning, dear listeners!” He bellows into the microphone. I cringe at the ‘dear listeners’ part.

“Today we have some very special guests with us, we have the Achievement Hunters!” He says excitedly, “We have quite the list of questions from you all, so these guys can answer some for us today!”

We all nod again and he looks down at his piece of paper to ask us the first question.

“First of all, where did the name ‘Achievement Hunters’ come from?” He asks, looking at me intently. As if I was the one who single-handedly did everything for this band. The name was a team-effort.

“Well,” I say, lacing my fingers together on the table, “We actually went through a lot of names, it was a really long process.”

“One of the first names we had was actually the title of our most recent album,” Ray pipes up and I nod.

“Very interesting,” The interviewer says.

I can already tell this is going to be a long fucking interview.

***

Any time we stop in New Jersey, I am obligated to visit my parents. It isn't that I don’t want to though, but my mom’s constant “I’m so proud of you”s do start to get repetitive. Usually, Lindsay or Ray would come with me. But this time Ray and Lindsay are both sleeping in. I just planned on going alone then, but then Gavin eagerly volunteered.

That is how I find myself in another limousine with Gavin spread out next to me. His legs are spread wide and he is clearly trying not to doze off. Gavin is surprisingly quiet, but I guess that is what not getting a whole night’s sleep will do to you. He stayed up almost all night playing games at the front of the bus, I heard him talking to himself. The dialogue was actually kind of funny. A lot of use of the word “bollocks” and a constant stream of weird, high-pitched noises.

The radio is on, but it is quiet. I try to focus on the music and not Gavin’s breathing as he falls back asleep.

The limo stops after about an hour of driving and I shake Gavin awake and he blinks blearily.

“We’re here, dude,” I say and he nods tiredly as I open the door. We both climb out of the limo and I tell the driver that we won’t be too long.

We make out way to the door and I knock on the hard cold surface. I hear the lock turning and the door opens to reveal my mom, smiling wide at me. She then looks over to Gavin.

“New boyfriend?”

All tiredness seeps out of my system and I am alert. I feel my face heating up despite the biting cold.

“Mom!” I hiss and she chuckles.

“He’s just our new touring member of the band,” I say.

She nods her head and then waves us in, “Well, come in then!”

“I’ve already made some coffee and muffins for you guys, and your father is at work right now.”

“Your mom is awesome,” Gavin whispers and I whole-heartedly agree.

I take a seat at the dining room table where three cups of coffee are placed, a plate of blueberry muffins in the middle. Gavin and I take a seat next to each other and my mom sits across from us.

“So, who might you be?” She asks, looking at Gavin.

“Gavin Free,” Gavin replies with a nervous smile.

“Nice to meet you, Gavin,” She says.

A pause, and then, “So, how has tour been? I’m excited to see the show tonight,”

“It’s been great, the crowds are amazing,” I say and she laughs.

“Of course they are, they all love you, Michael! I’m so proud of you,” She says. There it is.

We spend hours just talking and eating and drinking coffee. Gavin talks too sometimes, but mostly he just keeps quiet and eats his muffin. He eats slowly, taking small, deliberate bites from time to time. Once the clock hits three-thirty I get a text from Geoff that reads: _almost done?_

I text back a quick reply: _just about._

I slide my phone back into my pocket and smile at my mom before saying, “Geoff just texted me, so I guess that’s our cue to head back to the venue. Thanks for everything.”

She reaches across the table and takes my hands in hers and smiles at me.

“It’s always nice to get to catch up with you, I’ll see you at the show tonight.”

“Thanks, ma.” I say and urge Gavin to stand up so we can make our way to the door.

Mom leads us to the door and hugs me tight, “I love you, Michael.”

I hug her back, “I love you too.”

Gavin looks at me and smiles, his eyes are bright with a hint of something that I can’t quite put my finger on. Once we pull apart, Mom gives me a pat on the back before sending us off. We walk back to where the limo is still parked and I wave to the driver and he unlocks the doors.

I climb into the back of the limo after Gavin does. Once we’ve situated ourselves, we sit in silence again, the only sound being quiet radio yet again.

I’m not expecting it when Gavin asks, “So…What was that whole your mom thinking we were boyfriends thing about?”

I shrug, trying to keep my embarrassment about that on the down-low, “She just thinks I’m dating anyone who I hold hands with, I guess. She thought the same thing about Lindsay.”

“Oh,” He says, and looks back down at the floor of the limo. Then silence.

“When I was fifteen,” I say, catching Gavin’s attention, “I brought a boy home and we snuck into my room. He was sixteen.”

I’ve been looking down while I’ve been speaking, but when I look up and see that Gavin is still paying attention, I keep going.

“It was like seven in the morning, and my mom is almost never up that early, but that day she was. She came up to ask if I wanted to go to breakfast and she found us in my bed together.” I say with a nervous laugh.

“She wasn't mad or anything, but she told me to never do that in her house again. My dad was the one who took a while to warm up to it.”

I don’t know what possessed me to tell Gavin this story, but something is telling me that it might clear up some awkward air between the both of us.

“You’re lucky you have a mother like that,” He says lightly.

“Yeah, I’m pretty lucky,” I say, staring back downwards at the floor.

Rain starts pouring outside, the sound of it crashing against the window gets so loud that it drowns out the sound of the radio.

***

On stage that night I mention my family, hesitantly, not sure if I should regret it because someone might ambush them. That’s probably just me being paranoid, half of our fans don’t even know what they look like. I don’t typically post pictures of my family all over Myspace. My own Myspace primarily consists of embarrassing pictures Ray has taken of me. I should’ve never given that fucker my password.

Although, Ray did blow my family a kiss from stage which made me laugh, and I could so vividly picture my mother smiling at that in my head.

Now, we are in a huge, flashy hotel lobby in the middle of Trenton. Geoff decided that we all deserved a hotel break after being stuffed inside of a crowded bus for the past few weeks. There’s still no luxury of privacy though, we all still have to share rooms. Aside from Lindsay, who gets her own room just by principal.

“Lucky,” I mutter and Lindsay snickers.

I’m stuck rooming with Ray, who stays up until all hours of the night and it is impossible to fall asleep when you're in the same room with him at night. All you hear is the Pokemon theme, quietly, but still loud enough to keep you awake.

Just as I’ve shoved my pillow over my head I feel my phone buzz next to me on the bed. I throw the pillow off and glance over at the screen. It’s Gavin.

I pick up the device and flip it open to see his message that reads: _Want to sneak down to the bar? Heard they have some fantastic bevs. :)_

“Bevs” is Gavin speak for drinks, he insists that all of these words are real slang from England, but we all know that’s got to be bullshit.

I smile and type back a quick reply: _meet you down there in 5_

I roll over and out of bed, Ray looking over at me and raising a brow.  
“Going somewhere?” He asks, still keeping his eyes on me as I change from my pajamas to some normal clothing.

“Meeting Gavin for drinks,” I say and he shrugs, “care to join us?”

“Nah, I’m not up for breaking my staying-sober-forever streak tonight.”

I snicker and he smiles smugly at me and says: “Have fun, make sure to give Gavin a kiss for me. Or for you.”

“Fuck off,” I say and Ray laughs.

I close the door behind me as I exit the room and start making my way toward the elevator, only to be met by Gavin.

“Fancy meetin’ you here,” He says, staring me down. We’re both about the same height, but he’s standing on his tip-toes, looking down at me. I grab him by the shoulders, push him down and he yelps.

“Michael!” He whines in protest.

I just smirk and say, “Better.”

Just then the elevator rings and the doors open up, Gavin walks in first and I follow. I push the button that will take us to the first floor. We stand there in silence as a “Fly Me To The Moon” instrumental plays. This hotel is clearly too fancy to play anything other than Frank Sinatra in their elevators I guess. As the elevator comes to a stop, the doors open and we step out, Gavin leading the way again. As we approach the bar, the doors are closed and there is a big ‘CLOSED’ sign on the front.

“Huh,” I say.

“Not to worry, Michael,” Gavin says smoothly, knocking on one of the glass doors. The bartender walks over and points at the sign. Gavin smiles and pulls me over, hands framing my face and the bartender’s eyes get wide and he nods. He opens the door and lets both of us in.

“Huh,” I say again, dumbfounded.

“You’ve never done that before?” Gavin whispers to me as the bartender leads us to a table.

“Don’t really make a habit of using fame to my advantage,” I whisper back.

Gavin pulls out a chair at the table and sits down, I do the same and the bartender hands each of us a menu. I let Gavin order his drink first as my eyes still scan over the menu, I end up just ordering what Gavin gets. The bartender writes down our orders and walks away.

Gavin’s smiling at me and I frown, “What?”

“‘Don’t make a habit of using fame to my advantage’, you’re too good, Michael Jones.” He says teasingly and I scoff.

“More like just trying not to be an asshole. You clearly have no issue with that.” I shoot back hesitantly, testing the waters.

Gavin just laughs and shrugs his shoulders, “I just like using your _handsome face_ to my advantage.” He says, waggling his eyebrows.

I just give him an unimpressed look, “Is there anytime you won’t just flirt with people?”

“Oh, don’t worry it’s just you,” He says and I feel my face start to heat up.

In that moment, God must take pity on me, because that is when the waiter walks over with our drinks, sets them down in front of us. The waiter says: “Enjoy,” and then, before he turns to walk away, “Also, if it wouldn't be a problem, sir,” I already know what’s coming, “could I get a picture with you to put on our wall?” The waiter asks with a nervous smile.

I smile crookedly and say, “No problem.”

I pull myself up from the chair and put on a happy face for the camera as the waiter snaps the photograph, my eyes straining against the flash. The waiter takes a good look at the picture and gives me a thumbs up before walking away. I sit back down at the table, Gavin takes a long sip of his beer and I take a long sip of mine in turn.

After my first beer, I start to laugh at everything Gavin says. After my second, my speech starts to slur. After my third, my vision gets fuzzy and everything has a glowing edge to it. By my fourth, I am feeling care-free and nothing can go wrong in my mind.

Gavin is making circles with his finger on the table and I watch for a few seconds, almost fascinated, then I put my hand over his. Gavin looks back up at me with a shy smile, an expression I’ve never seen on him before. It’s almost like he catches himself in the act, because the next moment that smug grin is back on his face. I faintly find myself missing the former in my drunken haze.

“Did you know that this place has a pool?” Gavin asks and my eyes must go comically wide because he hunches over himself laughing.

“Oh, um, no I uh—didn’t know that,” My face is so hot it feels like I just got a sunburn, I desperately want to splash some water on my face to make it stop. A pool sounds like a pretty good option, then.

“What do you say we get out of here then?” Gavin teases, waggling his eyebrows. I laugh obnoxiously, it’s too wheezy. Gavin must be amused though, judging by the way he’s smiling at me.

“In all seriousness, though, come on,” Gavin insists. I place a ten on the table and leave a fifty that will pay off our bill. Gavin and I scurry out of the bar, sneaking short glances and giggling at each other. When I look over my shoulder as Gavin grabs my hand and runs, I see the bartender proudly pinning up the picture of us behind the bar. It makes me smile. It’s funny really, I’m less shallow when I’m drunk. It’s like the illusion of fame all melts away. The world just centers in on Gavin and me. It’s like I’m lost, but in a good way.

We have to climb over a short fence to actually get into the pool. Once we’ve snuck over the unoffending barrier, Gavin strips down to just his boxers and I pause to take everything in for a minute. My eyes scanning over his body, there’s a lot more hair than I expected. He starts to walk over towards me and tugs at the hem of my shirt. I get the memo and pull off the plain, black shirt and toss it to the ground. I unzip my pants and push them down, stepping out of them once the fabric has gathered around my feet.

Gavin sends me an evil look and I don’t have time to process anything before he’s pushed me into the pool. It all passes in a blur, one moment I’m on the concrete ground of the pool, and the next I’m engulfed in water. The chlorine burns my eyes and I push myself up, heaving a deep breath as I break through the surface.

“Asshole!” I shout and Gavin snickers.

I notice how close he is to the pool, feet just short of the edge. In my head where everything is moving slower than usual, I manage to grab him by the backs of his knees and pull him in. He yelps and flails his arms around before he comes crashing down, causing a huge splash. Once he resurfaces he has a pissy look on his face and I can’t help but smirk at him. He pushes me lightly and I don’t go far, the weight of the water holding me upright.

“Serves you right,” I say and he pouts.

We spend what feels like half-an-hour just fucking around in the pool. The thing is massive and feels more like the beginning of the ocean rather than a hotel pool. Gavin has been splashing me with water in every way possible, even by collecting some of the water in his mouth and spitting it at me.

“You don’t know what’s been in this water!” I warn him, but I think he’s too out of it to care.

The thick curls of my hair are sticking to my forehead and I try brushing them away, only to have Gavin push them back in front of my eyes again. He is ruthless. I tell him so and he only winks and continues to splash me. My eyes are starting to burn from the chlorine. I decide to take revenge and splash him back, swinging my arm into the water as forcefully as I can. He stumbles back and narrows his eyes at me.

“Oh, it’s on now.”

I have no time to make an escape before he is lunging at me full force. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and his legs around my waist. This sends us both falling backwards into the water. My eyes are open and I see something like fire in Gavin’s eyes. How is that possible underwater?

He’s still clinging onto me when I start to feel my lungs burn, begging for air. I push us up with all the strength I have, even with my limbs feeling as heavy as they do. I gasp when we reach the surface and Gavin looks pleased.

“Yet again, _asshole_.” I spit and Gavin grins at that.

Gavin still has his arms and legs wrapped around me and I start to feel like this is something I should be fighting off. Maybe I should push him off now. Or now. Or—

Then I make eye contact with Gavin, his eyes are dark and focused. I don’t know why he suddenly finds my face so interesting but I feel like his is getting closer, closer, closer.

I hear voices and instantly Gavin untangles himself from me. What the fuck was that?

“Oh, hey guys!” I hear Lindsay say.

Lindsay and Ray apparently had the same idea about breaking into the pool, both of them in swimsuits. Lindsay in the bikini she got the last time we were in Florida, and Ray is in some tropical-themed swim trunks that I’m pretty sure he got at Walmart.

“We looked down and saw you guys, figured we’d come down here too.” Ray says with a shrug.

“Oh, uh, I was actually planning on heading up to my room now. Kinda tired, y’know?”

“Aw, okay, Gavin?”

“I’ll stay down here with you guys, good night, Michael!” Gavin says, waving at me dramatically as I make my way out of the pool and grab a towel from a nearby stand.

I wave back with a small smile and climb over the fence, looking behind myself once to see all three of them splashing each other and laughing. All I’m thinking about is Gavin’s face inches away from mine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the lack of updating! I was pretty busy over the summer and didn't have much time for writing and was honestly losing some inspiration, but I'm starting to get back into the swing of things! Don't worry, the story isn't dead!


	5. Starting Over (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please read if you were expecting more from this story

So... it's been a while since I posted anything to this. This is the SECOND time around that I ended up posting this story, and I thought I had it this time, but apparently I didn't.

Reinventing the Scene is a story concept that has been near and dear to my heart since the moment the little idea popped into my head, so I wrote it once, published it, wrote it twice and published it again. But right now, to me at least, it still is not what I want it to be just yet, the outline does not feel finished. It needs more love, development and ultimately: time. I apologize to anyone who may have been enjoying the story so far, but I just do not feel motivated right now with the path the story is taking.

Don't worry, I am not giving up on this story, however I am going to be re-vamping it: the brainstorming, the outline, each chapter, etc. I will leave this work up until I finish the new first chapter, and when I do finish that I will post a link to that chapter on this work for those of you who subscribed to this story! A lot of things will stay the same, but many more things will most likely change. I just ask for some time. I will be writing other small and big stories in the meantime, but until then, the Band AU is on hiatus. But again don't worry, it'll be back!

Thank you to everyone for reading, subscribing and leaving kudos, it means the world to me! See you in the next version of Reinventing the Scene <3

(Also if any of you have any feedback about the story so far, please leave a comment so I can take consideration of it in the future story!


	6. Anyone Interested In Being a Beta?

Sooo, adding one last thing to this story before I really get into the new version, I'm looking for people to help me beta and flesh out ideas for this story! Anyone interested feel free to comment so maybe we can exchange discords or something, I'd really appreciate any help!

OR you can contact me via my tumblr at the URL ragehappybois if u dont wanna comment here!!


	7. Here It Is!

yep. i finally reworked this au into something i feel more motivated to work with. its actually going to be TWO volumes I think.. so for those of you who liked hearing the whole actually being famous thing rather than the rise to fame thing... Don't worry you'll see that too! just later.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14919062/chapters/34559588

heres a link. its just the prologue right now and i cant tell you how often itll update but thank you for being patient <3


End file.
